


the lengths and strands of time

by werealldreaming



Category: Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Canon Compliant (Mostly), Fluff, Gen, Hair Braiding, Timeline What Timeline, discussions of cultural destruction, discussions of the importance of history, missing scene of a sort?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24307486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werealldreaming/pseuds/werealldreaming
Summary: She’s surprised to find that she likes having long hair. She’d thought it would make her anxious, and it does sometimes, but she also likes the novelty of it, another new experience with Kelsier’s crew. She likes being able to run her fingers through her hair and fiddle with it, and she enjoys having Sazed do her hair in fancy styles before balls.or,Vin's not used to long hair. Sazed teaches her about history.
Relationships: Sazed & Vin (Mistborn)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	the lengths and strands of time

**Author's Note:**

> my friend asked me to write some hair-braiding fluff and i...kind of did that?
> 
> i'm pretty sure vin keeps her hair short in canon but shhh just go with it

There's a knock at her door, and through it comes Sazed’s voice. “Are you ready, mistress?”

“Yes,” Vin calls, crossing the room to open the door.

There’s another ball tonight, one at the Orielle family’s mansion, and Vin’s surprisingly excited to go. There’s been a lull in the number of balls, both in general and that she can attend as Valette Renoux, and she’s excited to go out again.

Although she’s now mostly able to put on her dresses by herself, having learned the key components that were previously tripping her up, her hair is still something she needs help with. Vin’s hair is almost shoulder-length now, longer than it’s ever been in her life, and although she knows how to pull it back to keep it out of her face, she doesn’t have any experience with styling it.

Having short hair had been a necessity, living underground. Long hair is easy to grab and pull, and it’s too much effort to maintain. Plus, it’s considered feminine, which hadn’t been something Vin wanted associated with her. Although she’d never worn her hair as short as Reen’s, it’s never been longer than chin-length.

She’s surprised to find that she likes having long hair. She’d thought it would make her anxious, and it does sometimes, but she also likes the novelty of it, another new experience with Kelsier’s crew. She likes being able to run her fingers through her hair and fiddle with it, and she enjoys having Sazed do her hair in fancy styles before balls.

The hairstyles he’s started doing are complex configurations of braids that Vin has no hope of understanding or replicating. If she’s honest, she's not sure how Sazed is able to do so much. Her hair may be longer than it's ever been in her life, but it's nowhere near as long as the other noblewomen's.

Sazed starts by combing her hair, carefully teasing out the tangles that had accumulated over the day. She hadn’t gone out training with Kelsier that day, so the task’s easier than it often is. Vin lets herself relax under his ministrations.

As he works, starting to partition her hair with a comb, Sazed tells her about the specific style he’s creating. “This was a common hairstyle for the Nia people,” he tells her, fingers scraping her scalp. “They wore it in times of celebration, like their Lunar Festivals.”

Vin nods, and Sazed gently forces her head still again. “Sorry,” she says. “Did they have a lunar calendar, then?”

“Yes,” he affirms. “They believed that luck and other positive forces were in line with the moon’s phases. Their Lunar Festivals fell on full moons. It was a way to recognize the good things in life, and remember to be grateful. Later, it also became a way to remember to hold hope.”

Vin hums in understanding. They lapse into quiet for a while, as Sazed starts forming what Vin is guessing to be a simple three-strand braid.

“What happened to that religion?” Vin asks, finally.

Sazed sighs. “They were wiped out. The Nia people were not considered important, to the Lord Ruler, and though they held out longer than many, their religion and their culture were lost.”

“Except for your knowledge.”

“Except for mine.” Sazed tugs her hair gently. “Tilt your head back a little.” She does, and he continues, “I may hold their knowledge, but one person does not make a culture. That was lost.”

Vin bites her lip. She doesn’t think about the people who lived before the Lord Ruler often, despite Sazed’s constant references to them. “A lot has been lost, hasn’t it?”

“More than either of us can imagine.” There’s a note of longing in Sazed’s voice, and Vin wonders how often he thinks of this. How much loss he is aware of, that she can’t even begin to understand. “We're lucky to have preserved as much as we have.” He's quiet for a moment, then says, “But it's best not to dwell on these things. There's nothing to be done but to continue, and to pass on what we have.”

Vin hums an agreement. “I like it when you tell us about different religions,” she says. “It's nice, hearing about how the world used to be, before the Lord Ruler.”

“I'm glad,” Sazed says, pinning up a completed braid. “It's important, to remember the past. To remember our history. It is why Keepers exist.”

It's not a philosophy Vin had heard, before joining Kelsier’s crew. In the underground, survival is the most important thing. The idea of someone risking their life for information, history long gone, would be seen as absurd. She can’t even imagine what Reen would say if he had heard of Keepers. But Vin can't help but be grateful, that things haven’t been lost to time.

It’s like the picture Kelsier carries in his pocket, she thinks, of the flower with a green stem. An impossibility, and a reminder of what they’d lost. What they’re working towards.

“I hope it gets to be shared,” Vin says. “That other people get to remember the past, someday.”

“I hope so too.”

A thought occurs to her. “Is that how you know how to do hair? Because of your Keeper knowledge?”

“To an extent,” Sazed says. “When I’m lucky, the exact steps to things like this are passed down. But more often, I have to figure out the specifics. I practiced quite a lot with Mare, actually.”

“Kelsier’s wife.”

“Yes.” Sazed pins up another braid. “She played the part of infiltrator particularly often, and when she did, she let me practice and try to figure things out. She always enjoyed hearing about pre-Ascension cultures, as well.”

Vin thinks again of Mare’s picture, and says, “It seems like she cared a lot about how things were before the Ascension.”

Sazed makes an affirmative noise. “She was the most interested, out of all of the original crew. Kelsier seems to have taken up that role, now. Perhaps it is to honor her.”

She’s not quite sure why she’s surprised at the statement. It’s clear, even now, that Kelsier had loved Mare with a rare intensity. It’s odd to reconcile what the crew says about her with her supposed betrayal. It’s not a topic they touch on very often, and Vin relishes the chances she gets to hear more about her.

Before she can think of anything to say, Sazed says, “Your hair is finished.”

Vin’s hands go up to touch the style. It’s simpler than the last hairstyle Sazed had done for her, but it’s still amazingly complex. “Thank you,” she says, and hopes that he understands that she doesn’t just mean for doing her hair.

Sazed smiles, and Vin knows that he does.

**Author's Note:**

> my [tumblr](https://ternaryflower53.tumblr.com)
> 
> leave a comment if you're so inclined :D


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